Democratic Nominee Hilary Clinton
Background:
Hillary Clinton earned her law degree from Yale University and served as First Lady from 1993 to 2001 under the Presidency of Bill Clinton where she lobbied for key legislation regarding children’s health care. She served as one of New York’s U.S. Senators from 2001 to 2009, serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee. She ran for president in 2008. After serving two terms as a Senator, she was appointed Secretary of State by President Barack Obama and served from 2009 to 2013.
Platforms:
Immigration- Clinton has a reform- minded approach to immigration with a focus on providing opportunities as well as full and equal citizenship for immigrants. “I’ll end family detention, close private immigrant detention centers, and help more eligible people become naturalized,” she wrote on her campaign website.
Social Issues- Clinton does not support any action to roll back funding to Planned Parenthood and wants to ensure women’s access to safe and legal abortions. She also supports the legalization of gay marriage and hopes to legislate bans on discrimination against LGBT+ persons. Regarding education, Clinton promises to provide a temporary moratorium on existing student loans according to the Washington Times.
Foreign Policy and Safety- Clinton is a supporter of increased gun control, including comprehensive background checks and preventing people on the no-fly list from purchasing guns, according to NBC News. “As Secretary of State, I worked to restore America’s leadership in the world. As president, defending our values and keeping us safe will be my top priority. That includes maintaining a cutting-edge military, strengthening our alliances, cultivating new partners, standing up to aggressors, defeating ISIS, and enforcing the Iran nuclear agreement,” Clinton wrote on her campaign website.
Economy- Clinton promises tax reform to cut taxes to small businesses while providing tax relief to working class families. Her campaign website proposes a “fair share surcharge for multi- millionaires and billionaires to ensure the wealthiest Americans do not pay a lower tax rate than hardworking middle-class families.” She has stated that strong Unions lead to
a strong America. Her website also promises a $10 billion investment in “Make it in America” partnerships to strengthen American manufacturing.
To learn more about Hillary Clinton’s positions and to get involved in her campaign, visit www.hillaryclinton. com.
Republican Nominee Donald Trump
Background:
Donald J. Trump was born in Queens, New York where he eventually developed his real estate career. Some of his projects include New York’s Grand Hyatt opening in 1980 as well as various hotels and residences in Hollywood, Chicago, Istanbul, and other locations worldwide. Aside from developing a world-renowned realty company, Trump is a recognizable media figure known for hosting the reality series The Apprentice and his sponsorship of the Miss America Contest. He first received major political attention with his association with the “Birther” movement which questioned President Obama’s United States citizenship by birth.
Platforms:
Immigration- The three cores to Donald Trump’s immigration policy according to his website are the following: “There must be a wall across the southern border, laws passed in accordance with our Constitutional system of government must be enforced, and any immigration plan must improve jobs, wages and security for all Americans.” To make Mexico pay for the wall, Trump proposes “impound(ing) all remittance payments derived from illegal wages; increas(ing) fees on all temporary visas issued to Mexican CEOs and diplomats . . . (and) increase(ing) fees at ports of entry to the United States from Mexico [Tariffs and foreign aid cuts are also options]” according to his campaign website.
Social Issues- Trump’s view on abortion is not on his campaign website. “As far as Planned Parenthood is concerned, I’m pro-life,” Trump asserted according to CBS News. Trump recommends major reforms to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through his Trump Plan which will increase funding for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment.
Foreign Policy and Safety- Trump plans on renegotiating trade agreements with China to decrease American job exports. To accomplish this, he plans on “lowering our corporate tax rate to keep American companies and jobs here at home, attacking our debt and deficit so China cannot use financial blackmail against us, and bolstering the U.S. military presence in the East and South China Seas to discourage Chinese adventurism” according to the campaign website. Also on his website, he states “the Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. Period.” Trump also believes that background checks do not need to be improved upon and banning guns is an ineffective policy in ending gun violence.
Economy- On his website, Trump states that he will make all efforts possible to repeal the Affordable Care Act— Obamacare. In regards to tax reform, Trump’s campaign website focuses on four tiers of reform; “Tax relief for middle class Americans, simplify the tax code to reduce the headaches Americans face in preparing their taxes and let everyone keep more of their money, grow the American economy, and not adding to our debt and deficit.”
To learn more about Donald Trump’s positions and to get involved in his campaign, visit www.donaldjtrump.com.
